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The NIAF Joins MAGGIANO’S LITTLE ITALY(tm) Restaurants Nationwide to Celebrate St. Joseph’s Day on March 19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org


** Proceeds to Benefit the NIAF Scholarship Program**

(WASHINGTON, DC – March 1, 2002) In honor of St. Joseph’s Day on March 19, Maggiano’s Restaurant will offer a special “St. Joseph’s Day Menu” for lunch and dinner at all 18 of its restaurants nationwide, announced the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), a leading advocacy group for the nation’s estimated 25 million Americans of Italian descent. A portion of the proceeds from every restaurant will benefit the NIAF Scholarship Program.

“We hope that you will join this tradition by patronizing Maggiano’s, ” said Frank J. Guarini, NIAF chairman. “Savor their Italian delicacies, while at the same time helping support the NIAF Scholarship Program, ” Guarini added.

The tradition of St. Joseph’s Day , “La Tavola di San Giuseppe” goes back to the middle ages when according to tradition, a severe drought left most residents of western Sicily dying of thirst and starvation. In desperation the people asked St. Joseph, their patron saint, to intervene. They promised that if the rain came they would prepare a feast in his honor. The tradition says that these prayers were answered with rainy weather. In gratitude, huge banquet tables were set up in public and the disadvantaged were invited to come and eat as much as they wanted.

Maggiano’s servers will give a “Fava” bean to each guest as a symbol of good luck, explaining that these beans were staple food that kept people alive during the drought. Sicilian immigrants brought this tradition to the states from the Old World.

A classic Southern Italian restaurant reminiscent of New York City’s pre-war “Little Italy,” Maggiano’s specializes in lavish portions of Old World recipes. The St. Joseph’s menu will include special dishes: four cheese ravoli fritte, linguini shrimp with toasted herb bread crumbs, fish of the day with white beans and arugula, roasted vegetable salad and warm spiced pear cake with candied walnuts. House specialties also include: Rigatoni DiGregorio ®, Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic, “Mom’s” Lasagna, Homemade Gnocchi, Salmon Oreganata, Veal Parmesan, and Prime New York steak Contadina Style.